Booking.com reaches million-dollar settlement with French tax authorities

Originally a Dutch hotel booking site, Booking.com has reached a settlement with French tax authorities in a long-running dispute over tax avoidance. The company, which is part of US-based Booking Holdings, confirmed this to French news agency AFP.

Booking.com pays 153 million euros to French tax authorities. The agreement covers fiscal years 2006 through 2018 and excludes subsequent years. Booking.com, founded in the Netherlands in 1996, was previously under investigation by French tax authorities over its activities in France between 2003 and 2012.

In 2016, the company received an additional assessment from the French tax authorities of 365 million euros for lost tax revenue for the years 2003 to 2012. According to the French, Booking.com had a permanent establishment in France but was not taxed. In addition, follow-up studies were initiated for several years after 2012.

Several million additional claims have also been levied on Booking.com by other European countries. The site is headquartered in the Netherlands, where corporate taxation is more favorable than in other European countries.

As a Dutch group paying tax in the Netherlands, we have always enjoyed a good reputation with the French tax authorities and we are happy to confirm that we have reached an amicable settlement with the French tax authorities. Company. An amicable settlement is an out-of-court settlement.